Bittersweet Memories
by Yaoi Scribe
Summary: A vampire an OFC visits the graves of two dear friends to pay respects on one of their birthdays.


Author's note: This story is dedicated to the memory of a dear friend and his boyfriend who were shot and killed October of 2005. Underworld was one of their favorite movies so I chose it to immortalize them. Flames will not be tolerated…nor will closed-minded bigots.

Bittersweet Memories

"Are you insane?" a male voice demands, "If we are found here we are going to die!"

"I don't care. This war is stupid," a female voice responds, "I don't personally care why they hate each other."

"They were LYCANS! There is no point grieving!"

A snarl escapes the female vampire before she punches her fellow Death Dealer in the face. "You know NOTHING!" she hisses at him, "and I NEVER told you to follow me! If you are too whipped by Kraven than by all means return to the coven. I mean to have this night to myself."

"Look, I'm sorry. I now that they were your friends…but honestly, they were NOT the males you remember…they'd become monsters."

"That's your opinion, NOT mine! And in any event, that wasn't the point! They weren't even killed for being Lycans, you bastard! Mind your own business and leave me alone."

"Then enlighten me as to why they were killed if not for what they had become," the male says scornfully.

The female's hazel-brown eyes fill with tears. "They were lovers…that is why they were killed. One of their fellow Lycans killed them because they were LOVERS!"

Her companion steps back in shock. "N-Natasha…" he starts.

She cuts him off. "Don't, Nathaniel. Just let me alone with their grave…please…"

Nathaniel sighs. There was no use in arguing with the younger vampire and he knows this. "I am not going far. There are Lycans in the area and I don't want you following your friends."

Natasha doesn't answer she slips into cemetery where she'd seen her friends buried. There had been no stone but she'd changed that one night. She finds it easily in the row and sits on the ground beside it. Gently, she traces the words written she'd had chiseled to commemorate her friends. The tears she'd tried valiantly to hold back spill down her cheeks. "It's February 13, 2006…Happy eighteenth birthday, Joseph," she whispers, "I miss you so much."

Her turning had been hard…she hadn't wanted the immortal life of a vampire and had resisted for as long as she could. However, she'd finally succumbed and then had found out that one of her dearest friends had become a Lycan. It had ripped her heart apart but she'd managed to keep in contact with him and learned about the male who'd bitten him. It had amused her to learn that he was currently dating said Lycan. Caleb had become a friend after a while and the three met secretively at night.

However, fate seemed to enjoy its cruelties and one night, Joseph and Caleb hadn't shown up. When days passed and she hadn't heard from them, she became worried. One night on a patrol, she found a group of Lycans at a cemetery. It was well-known that it was where they buried their dead and the vampires left it alone. Wondering what they were doing, she drew closer and what she saw broke her heart. Watching them bury her two dearest friends was the breaking point. Tears falling, she listened as Lucian was told what happened by a dark skinned male Natasha had never seen before. The sad shaking of Lucian's head showed that the Lycan master did not agree with what happened.

Natasha had waited in the shadows until the grounds were empty. Then she slowly walks to the new mound. Sinking to her knees she cried bitterly for hours and had almost not made it back to the coven. She'd gone so far as to ignore Kraven and walk straight to her room feeling empty. The next night, she'd gone and picked out a headstone and had it engraved.

"I'll find the one responsible," she whispers, "And when I do…hell will seem like heaven compared to what I do to him."

"Natasha, could you finish this…we have Lycans coming this way," Nathaniel calls softly, "And I really don't think we can handle a group of about ten."

Natasha looks up. For a moment, she's tempted to tell Nathaniel to run and remain behind, however, she knows that is not what her friends would want. Slowly, she pulls herself from her position and looks down at the grave. "Happy Birthday," she repeats, "I love you both."

"Natasha," Nathaniel repeats urgently, "They are almost in seeing range of us."

The female places a picture down against the stone. The lycans would probably destroy it realizing she was a vampire but it belonged there. "Goodbye, Josie…Caleb," she whispers before walking up to Nathaniel. "Let's go, Nate." Both disappear like shadows into the alleys.

The Lycans check the area smelling their scent, and one stops by the grave and picks up the picture. "Well, I'll be damned," Pierce comments, "They were friends."

"What are you talking about?" Taylor demands.

"That female vampire that's been here…she was friends with Joseph," he says holding the picture out.

Taylor takes it and looks at it. For a moment there is a sad expression in the Lycan's eyes. "Stupid war," he mutters before replacing it. "That photo's to be left alone," he growls, "out of respect for our dead brothers." The others quickly agree not wanting to incur Taylor or Pierce's rage. "Well, the bloods are gone so let's get out of here."

The cemetery is soon empty and the dead left to their eternal slumber. The only grave with a headstone is ornate only with a single picture of two children playing in the park; a petite boy with large gray-blue eyes and brown hair and a lanky girl with hazel-brown eyes and mousy hair. It is framed in metal with the words FRIENDS FOREVER engraved around the edges. The grave stands silent…though never forgotten.


End file.
